Tag Archives: Patricia Martín

“I am good at cleaning up psiots. They taste sweet.”

Hey, hey, this is D. C., and I’m excited to throw down on some work this month. First is a strong favorite of mine: Valiant’s Secret Weapons, from the creative team of Eric Heisserer, Raul Allén, and Patricia Martín.

Any info on Secret Weapons?

I came into Secret Weapons knowing absolutely nothing about what came before. Secret Weapons was just one of many books published by Valiant Comics back in the 1990’s. With Valiant Entertainment’s revival (a very good one, I might add), the company has reintroduced many of those old books in various forms.

While the original book had a team of its more iconic characters like Bloodshot, the Eternal Warrior, and X-O Manowar, we now have a hidden set of psiots who were part of Toyo Harada’s Willows program.

Basically, a set of rejects whom Harada deemed had no useful abilities towards his goals.

O. G. Secret Weapons!

In the aftermath of the series Harbinger, the psiots are public knowledge, and Harada’s own hardships in Imperium means the Willows have been abandoned. In the meantime, a patchwork creature called Rex-0 (I’m unsure if it is pronounced “Rex-zero,” or “Rex-O”…damn comics) is hunting Harada’s rejects. Why hasn’t been determined.

That’s inconsequential to Harada’s former protege, Livewire, who is trying to rescue the psiots and uncover Rex-0’s benefactor, who may be more sinister than Harada ever was.

Impressions

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a book that had characters with relatively useless powers, and yet so endearing, funny, dynamic, and interesting all in one.

If you’ve read any of Valiant’s books that feature Livewire (Harbinger or Unity), you would know she is a powerful psiot. Still, she has not been the focus of this book, and thankfully so. But only two issues in, it is Nikki Finch and Owen Cho who shine.

With Owen, we quickly get an idea of his character, his background, and just the hilarity of his abilities. Owen conjures objects, but he has no control of when and what he conjures. Still, Eric Heisserer plans the usefulness of Owen’s uselessness very well in the first two issues. I couldn’t help but be surprised and pleased and how these innocuous items Cho conjured were used to escape danger.

Now…Nikki Finch, the psiot who speaks to birds.

She is a true gem. A skilled gymnast with a tough and courageous attitude, she is hard proof that your abilities alone do not make you a contender. Finch uses her innate and learned skills with finesse, fearlessness, and wonderful abandon. You can’t help but love her character. I feel she has great potential in the Valiant universe, thanks to Heisserer.

As for the art? Raul Allén and Patricia Martín work together well to generate an intriguing tale with Heisserer’s script. The art seems simplistic, but you can’t denigrate even simplistic art that pushes dynamics, emotion, and great physical action. This artistic team excels here.

Verdict?

Valiant’s revival of Secret Weapons leaves nothing to the imagination, and it is only two issues in. There is heart, actions, great characterization, and fantastic introductions given to a slew of characters. Again, Eric Heisserer proves his skill in tackling characters with useless abilities and makes them anything but. The art provided by Raul Allén and Patricia Martín help to weave a great tale that can only make one hopeful not just for the Secret Weapons, but for the future of Valiant.